Coaching Up to the C-Suite

According to the 2016 State of Agile Survey the #3 cause of agile project failure is “Lack of management support” at 38%. To compound the matter, the #5 cause of prevention of further agile adoption is “Management support” at 29%. In contrast, the #2 reason for success in scaling agile is “Executive sponsorship” at 40%.

Clearly the executives and C-suite are a key part of a successful agile transformation. As an agile coach or transformation agent it is imperative that you work with the C-suite so that your org can successfully adopt agile.

Learn about the different types of C-suite executives through the use of personas. We will cover 6 persona types in detail.

Outline/structure of the Session

3 min – Set the stage and describe the common problem of how to coach to executives. Includes summarization of Scrum Coach Retreat and how they can be useful in producing actual output like this presentation.

3 min – Overview the 6 executive persona types

5 min – Describe persona 1, “Risk Adverse” executive and the following information: traits, tells, how to relate, and tools/games/resources to be applied

5 min – Describe persona 2, “Disenaged” executive and the following information: traits, tells, how to relate, and tools/games/resources to be applied

5 min – Describe persona 3, “Results Driven” executive and the following information: traits, tells, how to relate, and tools/games/resources to be applied

5 min – Describe persona 4, “Metrics Driven” executive and the following information: traits, tells, how to relate, and tools/games/resources to be applied

5 min – Describe persona 5, “Dictator” executive and the following information: traits, tells, how to relate, and tools/games/resources to be applied

5 min – Describe persona 6, “Executive Change Agent” executive and the following information: traits, tells, how to relate, and tools/games/resources to be applied

5 min – Provide general resources and tools and games applicable to executives and summarize the persona types and how coaching at the executive level is just plain different

Fill remaining timebox with Q&A

Learning Outcome

The value of Scrum Coach Retreats and how agile coaching teams can solve hard agile problems together. How attendance and participation at conferences can lead to distribution of ideas and information. The concept of coaching at the executive level and how it is different. The 6 common executive persona types and associated information, including:

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